(The Associated Press circulated the following article on December 1.)
WASHINGTON — A worn, chipped switch that wasn’t replaced by CSX Corp. likely caused January’s derailment of a Virginia Railway Express commuter train, federal investigators have determined.
The National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation of the Jan. 5 derailment found that CSX delayed replacing a switch just north of the Quantico Marine Corps Base that had been “repeatedly identified as deteriorating,” according to the NTSB report, adopted Nov. 20.
CSX owns and maintains the tracks and had ordered a replacement part to fix the switch, but it didn’t arrive until the day of the derailment.
Seven VRE passengers and two crew members were injured when three passenger cars on the morning train jumped the rails at Possum Point, Va. The locomotive engine pushing the train also derailed.
It was the first derailment in VRE’s history. Rail traffic was stopped for 12 hours after the incident.
CSX spokesman Bob Sullivan said the freight railroad agrees with the NTSB finding.
“We are thankful no one was seriously injured and certainly appreciate all of the emergency personnel who responded quickly and professionally,” Sullivan said.
The switch point had been a chronic problem, forcing trains to travel slower through the Possum Point area on several occasions as a precaution, according to the NTSB.
On the day of the derailment, however, there was no order for trains to slow down. VRE trains were allowed to travel up to 45 mph.
CSX changed its policy on fixing switches in February. The policy now requires speed restrictions to continue until a bad switch is replaced, and the pieces are not to be repaired by any welding process as they were before.